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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26059624">a nice moment</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssyEr/pseuds/AssyEr'>AssyEr</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Mechanisms (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Flowers, Gift Giving, How Do I Tag, I'm Sorry, Melancholy, Other, Talking, god this is so late posted, no beta we die like men, oh fuck the title, they chat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 11:13:49</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,944</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26059624</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AssyEr/pseuds/AssyEr</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Lyf finds out who gifted them a flower crown back on Midgard.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ivy Alexandria/Raphaella la Cognizi/Lyfrassir Edda/Marius von Raum, Lyfrassir Edda/Marius von Raum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Writer's Month 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>a nice moment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is posted so, so late, but it was written for writers month, prompt being loss.</p>
<p>So, this was originally written as a sequel of Metamorphosis, another fic i have where Lyf has a bad time, but eventually get with the mechs. But it evolved into its own thing, so you dont need to read it to understand.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Lyf put the papers on the desk of Mel, head of Human Resources, and the person in charge of actually making the day free they have been promised in exchange of taking extra turns on the three prisoners vigilance happen.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Ah, yes, I’ve been told you requested the date very early into the year. Have some plans, don’t you?” she teased them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It was the same every year. She always made the same comment, and they always answered with the same fake smile, one they begged let her know that yes, they realized she was technically their superior and were being nice, but they had no intension of making conversation. They just wanted her to sign the papers to be free to leave.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“All ready and done!” she cheerfully told them while handing Lyf the permits. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lyf grabbed it and went to their boss office, glad to have actual evidence of what they have been promised. There was no way they would be working on the holidays, no sir.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>“Lyfrassir Edda, if you don’t deign to answer me, I am going to pick my violin, and that’s a promise!” said Marius from the other side of Lyf’s door.</p>
<p>He had been knocking for a long while now, and Lyf had been happily ignoring him. They knew what he wanted, and they couldn’t care less about it. They just wanted to curl up on their bed again, toying with the things on their box (the only things they had left from <em>before</em>), and, basically, to keep drowning on their own misery.</p>
<p>But they wanted even less to hear that awful thing. He was on a record right now, of how long he spent without getting the violin out to annoy them, and they wanted to keep it that way. “What do you want?” they shout at him, throwing some shirt that was laying around to cover the box.</p>
<p>Or at least they suppose they manage to cover it. They had tied a cloth on their head to cover the eyes, so it wasn’t like they could check.</p>
<p>Lyf had insisted on having it on at all times now, since the incident on the med bay. They were afraid that, if they were to just, look, It would come back for them, Yog-Sothoth, the shadows, the whispers. They would not risk it.</p>
<p>The crew of the Aurora were… well, they never were nice by definition, but they supported their decision. Tim specially, who seemed to offer himself even more than Marius to help them get around (gods, they needed to get a cane). When Lyf asked why, he just told them that he had spent some time blind before his mechanization was finished, and understood how much it sucked. They didn’t ask any follow up questions.</p>
<p>When Marius came through the door without even asking Lyf had already been half expecting it. They just sat up on the bed, looking on what they hopped was his direction, and waited to see what he wanted.</p>
<p>“Ah, Lyf, good evening. Tim told me you said you weren’t hungry, so I thought that we should have dinner together,” he told them, walking towards them and sitting on their bed, which, <em>rude</em>.</p>
<p>“I am really not hungry, von Raum,” Lyf told them in what they already knew was a vain effort.</p>
<p>They just didn’t feel like eating, and wished he would leave them alone.</p>
<p>“Yes, that’s what you told me before lunch, and I know for a fact you haven’t eaten anything since then, so here” he handed them a plate, which they reluctantly took. “A plate for you, and one for me. It’s Matr” he commented.</p>
<p>That made them freeze in place. “What?” Lyf asked in a small voice.</p>
<p>They could practically hear von Raum fidgeting beside them. “It was the Toy Soldier’s idea, it thought that perhaps something more familiar would encourage you. To eat,” Marius said. “Brian was the one to actually cook it. But I… I can get you another thing if you want! Sorry, I should have asked, I-,” he was starting to talk faster with the nerves.</p>
<p>Lyf cut him before he could continue. “No, its fine, I… appreciate it,” they told him, vaguely grabbing a piece from their plate. “I’ll have to thank them later,” they mumbled, more to themself.</p>
<p>They… hadn’t been expecting. Well, any part of it. The thought of TS and Brian, cooking this to them to… to… just because they were worried they hadn’t been eating enough… They should be eating better, Lyf knew. They were worrying the whole crew, who gods knew why had taken a like on them. Lyf should at least try to repay them. They were acting like an ungrateful asshole, and they didn’t deserve it.</p>
<p>And on the other side, just, getting to eat Matr again. They had thought that it would be another thing they had lost to the Bifrost, tough they didn’t know why.  It’s not like the ingredients were anything special, and it was easy enough to make in a hurry. It had been stupid to believe they would never get to have it again.</p>
<p>It was stupid that they were getting so worked up about it.</p>
<p>“…Lyf?” asked Marius beside them concerned. “Can I touch you?”</p>
<p>Lyf was very stupid, that’s what he was. It was just food, Hel. They passed his hand over his face, trying to clean the tears they just realized had been losing.</p>
<p>“Where?” they took deep breaths, trying to calm down.</p>
<p>Marius kept moving beside them. “I was thinking of a hug, but I could do less if you wanted”</p>
<p>The tears were still flowing, and they knew they would only get worse if they accepted the offer. “A hug would be nice,” they told him, and let themself be embraced.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>If Mel could see them now, she would be incredibly disappointed, they thought. Lyf had never been an open person, and they were sure the whole precinct believed they had some sort of partner, and for a very long one. It would be unusual, after all, to get into so much trouble to get the day free if they would just spent it on their own.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Usual or not, that’s what Lyf was doing, sat on their couch and watching some bad horror movie they had found on the local channel, eating the left over from the week.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It’s not that they were a dick. They were aware that many of their coworkers would die for the chance to spend the festivities with their beloved, without work or anything else bothering. But they had worked hard to get it, and they wouldn’t regret it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They just wouldn’t be able to stand seeing everybody just, being happily in love, wearing love coronas and talking about all the people they would be coming home to. Lyf would die.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>So they left them gossip all they wanted about their inexistence love life, as long as it let them be home by midnight.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
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<p>Lyf refused to feel ashamed about their position.</p>
<p>They were sat with their back to Marius’ front, with him hugging them from behind, his head above theirs because he was taller. Supposedly, they were both eating from the same plate, tough they were pretty sure von Raum was not really eating that much. Instead, he seemed to be perfectly happy enjoying having Lyf on his arms, one of his hands over their stomach tracing comforting circles, that were not anymore because he wanted to comfort them, but because he didn’t want to stop. Lyf didn’t want him to stop, either.  </p>
<p>Which was why they shoved all insecurities deep down, and refused to address them. They were having a nice moment, and they didn’t want to ruin it.</p>
<p>Well, Lyf said nice. They were getting kind of uncomfortable, now, with the persisting silence. Marius had never been that quiet before, and it was getting kind of unsettling.</p>
<p>“Cut it with the silence,” they finally resolved to tell them.</p>
<p>Gods, they could feel him behind them moving to look down at them. “What?”</p>
<p>“The silence,” Lyf told them. “You’re never this quiet.”</p>
<p>He scoffed at them. “Perhaps I’m just enjoying the peace” he answered.</p>
<p>There were a thousand of teasing answers they could give him, and Lyf saw them all dance in front of them before responding in an almost whisper. “I’m not.” It was the truth.</p>
<p>That took Marius back for a moment, just for him then to bury his chin on their hair.  He hummed a little, trying to come up with some sort of conversation starter. The man could speak until death, but somehow found himself with a blank mind when he needed it the most.</p>
<p>“What were you doing before I came in?” he asked, because why not.</p>
<p>That got Lyf uncomfortable. “Uh,” they said, and unconsciously looked towards the direction of the box. “Nothing,” they lied, badly.</p>
<p>A very awkward silence settled in for a moment.</p>
<p>“Right,” said Marius, who had forgotten how conversations worked and that he had been expected to say something back.</p>
<p>Lyf must have eldritchly felt how fake his right was, because they sighed defeated. “I didn’t cover the box completely, did I?” they asked.</p>
<p>The box was, in fact, not even half covered, and very obviously opened in evidence of recent use. “What box?” he said, playing dumb.</p>
<p>He didn’t need to play it, Lyf thought, as they sat a bit straighter.</p>
<p>“It’s fine,” they said, sparing Marius from his lies. “I was actually, uh, going through some things. From before” he added, just to be clear.</p>
<p>He held him a bit tighter with the hand he had around their stomach, before telling him, “you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”</p>
<p>Lyf bit their lip, unsure of what to do.</p>
<p>Talking about it… hurt. Hel, even thinking about it made them feel like they had a hole on their chest, and honestly they couldn’t trust themself to just <em>talk</em> about all that without bursting into tears. Again.</p>
<p>But then, they had also been looking at the box for a reason. They didn’t want to forget all that had once been their life. There, on the Aurora, it was too easy to just believe that that had always been their life, and they didn’t want that. Even if it hurt, they wanted to remember, to keep it with them.</p>
<p>Contrary of what they had thought at the beginning, they were actually happy that the mechs did an album about the Bifrost. That way, the task of remembering their people would not be on himself alone. They could still live, somewhat, if only in stranger’s memories.</p>
<p>And, it was von Raum. Marius. He was the most annoying idiot they had ever met, and got on their nerves as if someone would give him a medal for it, but. He cared, Lyf knew this. Marius had been there helping them since he found them again, and they knew they could trust him with that part of themself.</p>
<p>They wanted to.</p>
<p>Lyf stretched their arm, and brought the box on their lap, careful not to drop anything. The violinist realized what they were trying to do, and moved the almost empty plate to the bedside table, watching attentively from Lyf’s movements. Once it was settled, they looked back at him.</p>
<p>“This is what I brought with me when I fled Yggdrasil. A box of trinkets of sorts, you could say” they told him.</p>
<p>Marius hummed in appreciation, and then added “You know, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to”</p>
<p>“I do,” Lyf was quick to respond. “If, if you want to listen, I mean” they said, realizing what they were asking him.</p>
<p>“I do,” Marius mimicked. “I do.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Since they found the chaplet of flowers in their desk, and had braided some of them into their hair, Lyf had been in a peculiar good mode for themself. They hadn’t mumbled angrily when their new work partner had fucked up with paperwork, again, or when the coffee machine had been found broken in a mysterious accident. They were even whistling as they descended into the lower levels of the police station.</em>
</p>
<p><em>They had to sign some papers down there, because apparently the papers that featured all the extra hours they had spent vigilant of </em>the<em> prisoners had gone missing, which meant that they had to read and sign and write their name a lots of times. But Arne, the person who was in charge of those documents had a lazy ass, and made Lyf go down there because he couldn’t be bothered to hand them himself.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>But they didn’t care as much as they would normally do. It wasn’t that much of a walk, and they could do with the stretch.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>What they couldn’t never do with were the prisoners, who immediately revolted as soon as they stepped into the room.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Ah, good evening, inspector Lyf” said von Raum, as usual.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lyf did not let him ruin their good mood. “Von Raum, la Cognizi, Alexandria. </em>
  <em>Arne,” he finished, referring to the man in the desk in front of the cell.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Feeling good today, are we?” Marius commented as they passed in front of him.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I’ve got the documents right here,” Arne told Lyf, getting an enormous pile of paper from a drawer in the desk. “Protocol says you must read them all, but the places where you have to sign are marked with a sticky” he indicated the yellow rectangles standing out on the sides.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They sighed, and sat down on a chair, a pen in hand and disposed to at least give it a quick read. The last thing they wanted was for something to be wrong, and them being stuck in some court giving testimony in front of a judge. Between the trio chatting about gods knew what, and Arne typing on his computer, Lyf found themself easily immersed in the words in front of them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Inspector Edda?” said Alexandria, and that was the only reason why they looked up at her. The others they had quickly adapted to unconsciously ignore, but it was her that now and then said something worth the time.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Yes, Alexandria?” they told them, confused. The other two also seemed attentive to what she was about to do, so at least it didn’t seem like a trap.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I want to state that the flowers in your braids make you look more beautiful than normal” she just said, like that, as if she hadn’t shut the whole room.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Arne stopped typing, and the others two stood quiet, waiting for their response. Alexandria was looking directly at them with the same neutral expression as always, and Lyf did not dare to advert their gaze from her. They knew they were probably blushing.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Um, thank you,” they mumbled, concentrating very hard on not stuttering.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You’re welcome,” she replied, and turned back to her cell mates.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Okay. Right. Back to the documents. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But the situation was far from over, it seemed, as von Raum wanted to participate in this whole new thing of complimenting Lyf Ivy had just started.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Oh, yes, they are very pretty. They stand out lovely against your white hair” he told them from the cell, arms hanging on the bars and without a care on the world.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>He was making fun of them, they knew it, even if the tone sounded more sincere than they had ever heard from the man. Even if they themself had the same thought when staring at their hair. Should they deign that with an answer?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Thank you, von Raum, but please shut up.” There, professional, cold, and definitely not showing how fast their heart started racing at the compliment. Nothing out of the ordinary.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They started skipping whole parts of the documents, just going to the parts where they needed to sign. Right now, getting out of there was far more important. If Arne noticed, he didn’t say anything. Of course he didn’t, the bastard was probably enjoying this as much as the prisoners.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I do certainly agree,” said la Cognizi, because apparently Lyf’s hair was the hottest take now. “Although I would recommend using more mistletoe, the green would add a nice color to the palette. But yes, you’re very pretty today”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lyf was signing the last bits standing up, now, because they just wanted to finish this to shove the papers to Arne and get the fuck out of there. The prisoners complimenting their hair… it was a situation they were not prepared to confront. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“Yes, and perhaps some branches too?” Alexandria brought enthusiastically, and Lyf had finally gotten to the last page thank the gods.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>They left the paperwork on the desk with a loud thump, and speed walked towards the door. They were still talking about their hair when they closed the door.</em>
</p>
<p><em>They did certainly </em>not<em> stared a bit at their reflection when they passed next to some glass on the way to their office.</em></p>
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<p>“…and my sister gave it to me when I told her I was planning to put an effort in the poetry competition. She was the first I told when I my poem won, she was really happy, got me a bag of candy and everything” they finished telling Marius, smiling at the memories.</p>
<p>They had cried at some point, after showing him the first or second little trinket he had on the box. He had held them close, not talking but being comforting on his own way. When they had calmed down enough to keep going, he held their hand as they talked, altering between keeping it loose around his fingers and tracing circles on it.</p>
<p>He was still holding it now, even if the melancholy on Lyf had slowly turned into fondness, and didn’t seem to be about to cry anymore. Still, they seemed to enjoy it, as they hadn’t let him go either, and could be found now and then tracing patterns on his, or lightly scratching his palm with their thumbnail.</p>
<p>Lyf left the book to their right, where the rest of the things they had already told Marius about lay. They were… many things, and Lyf had stopped more than one time to make sure he wasn’t secretly hating them for making him endure all their ramblings. After being assured many times that no, Marius actually was enjoying himself, they had just starting telling themself that he was a grown man that could get out of the situation if they really wanted to. Whether that calmed them or not was a different thing, but at least they weren’t asking anymore.</p>
<p>They put their hand on the box once again, and grabbed a small square on which texture they could locate the flowers and leaves trapped inside. Mistletoe, bellflower, liatris and dwarf iris, laminated with resin.</p>
<p>It was a good memory, that one.</p>
<p>So they talked about it to Marius.</p>
<p>They told him about what a flower chaplet meant on their culture, a present of love. They told him how it would be given specially as a romantic gesture, especially when blue, but other kinds of love would already count as an excuse to give someone one, tough it would have to be of white ones, or else the intentions could be misunderstood.</p>
<p>That’s part of why it was so treasured for them, the color. Someone had been interested in them, and had no shame on letting it known (on the safety of anonymity, of course, but was more than what Lyf ever dared to do for their crushes). Finally, they told him how much they wished they knew who had sent them.</p>
<p>The violinist tensed quite abruptly behind them.</p>
<p>“Marius?” they asked, half looking to him, wanting to know what was wrong.</p>
<p>There was a moment of silence, until they fully turned to face him. “Um,” he said, giving the most uncomfortable non committing noise ever.</p>
<p>They fully turned around to face him, immediately catching that something was wrong. “Spill it von Raum”</p>
<p>Marius shifted a bit before actually starting to explain himself. “I… it might have been us? Who sent you the flowers back then.”</p>
<p>“What”</p>
<p>“There was supposed to be a note!” he hurried to say, already feeling himself flushing.</p>
<p>Lyf, for their part, was still having trouble processing what he had just said. “I can assure you there was no note”. They had been interested on them? Back on Midgard? <em>Why</em>?</p>
<p>They weren’t particularly beautiful, nor had been exactly nice to have around. But that hadn’t changed, now that they think about it. They might have gotten worse. Lyf probably hadn’t deserved it, and maybe the fact that they hadn’t found the note was for the better. It’s not like it would have been an easy relationship (because they had no doubt they would have said yes). Scratch that, it would have been impossible.</p>
<p>Wait, had their feelings changed?</p>
<p>“…and we thought it was better to leave it like that, and we can keep doing that, if you want, it doesn’t have to be awkward” Marius finished, much to their surprise because Lyf had never realized he had been speaking.</p>
<p>Lyf tried not to seem too lost. “Would you like to… uh, not leave it like that?”</p>
<p>He perked up at that. “What do you mean?” asked Marius.</p>
<p>Still holding his hand, they played with their fingers while they spoke. “I know I’m… well, fucked up would be one way of putting it. But if you are still interested, I would be into it”</p>
<p>“Oh,” was all the fucker said.</p>
<p>“It’s fine if you don’t!” they hurried to say. Of course, what the Hel had they been thinking? They were barely passing then, it had probably been some dumb crush for them, trapped in prison with nothing better to do. “I understand if things have changed.”</p>
<p>But they hope they hadn’t. They hoped they still had a chance.</p>
<p>“They didn’t. Change, at least for me, but I’m sure the others feel the same” Marius said. “I would also like not to leave it like that,” he added, timidly, and left no option for Lyf but to kiss him. It was weird, with them not being able to see making them accidentally bump their head against his, but they made it work.</p>
<p>Yes, they made it work.</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>They didn’t know what they were doing there.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Well, yes, they knew, it’s just that they were embarrassed. It was a childish thing to do, completely dumb, they should already be above those sappy things.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Still, Lyf was next in line and now only client in the shop. They didn’t back down when the woman attending the shop smiled at them, and returned the gesture when she asked them what they needed. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“I would like to have this in resin, please” they said, extending at her a small bag that contained some flowers and a leave.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She grabbed it, peaking inside. “Oh, this are lovely! I wasn’t expecting doing this work until next year, but I’m always happy to do so” she chatted, while arranging the plants and taking measurements. “I can have it ready for tomorrow evening, if it works for you” she finally stated, packing everything back to its place.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“That would be perfect, thank you” Lyf responded, glad to see that the interaction would go with no further embarrassment.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>“You’re welcome” the lady said, and then, as they turned around to leave, “and good luck with your sweetheart!”</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lyfrassir did not turn around and just marched outsides as they felt their cheeks turn bright red.</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>and once again, the author gets behind schedule.</p>
<p>Thank you for reading! if you want to leave a kudo or comment, they are very much apreciated, as they feel like when you work very hard on something that all of you is trembling and your vision a little foggy, but in a satisfactory way, and your mounth cant help but smile, and you just breath in and out, truly enjoying the moment. Like that, more or less</p></blockquote></div></div>
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